Sewing-machine



2 Sheets-Sheet. 1..

n. PETERS mmmmpm. wnmngam n c W. '1. STEWART SEWING MAGHINE 2 sheets-sheet 2t (No Model.)

W. J. STEWART.

, SEWING MACHINE. No. 323,968. Patented Aug. 11, 1885.

lto vibrate as required.

Nini-3D STATES VILLIAM J. STEWART, 'OF BELLEVILLE, ILLINOIS.

SEWING-MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 323,968, dated August 11, 1885.

Application filed May 12, 1884.

To all whom it may concern.-

A,Be it known that l, WILLIAM J. STEWART, a citizen of the United States, residing at Belleville, in the county of St. Clair and State ot Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements i-nSewing-Machines, which are fully set forth in the following specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l represents a side elevation of a machine embodying my invention, a part of the standard being broken away; Fig. 2, a plan section of the same, taken on the line x x,

Fig. l; Fig. 3, a vertical section of the samev through the standard, taken on the line y y, Fig. l, Fig. et, a bottom plan view ofthe same, and Fig. a detail view.

My invention relates, mainly, to the mechanism for operating the feed devices of a sewingmachine.

I will proceed to describe in detail the construction and operation of a machine embodyingmy invent-ion in one practical form, and will then point outdeinitely in the claims the special improvements which I believe to be new and wish to protect by Letters Patent.

As my present invention relates only to a part ot' the machine, I shall describe particularly only such portions of the entire machine as are necessary to a full understanding of the construction and operation of my improvements.

In the drawings, A represents the bed-plate ofthe sewing-machine, and B the standard, in which the main shaft G is mounted in the usual way. On the main shaft is an eccentric, o, to which the upper end of the feed-shaft pitmanlever D is applied by an eccentric-strap, d. The feedshaft E is mounted in any ordinary way on the under side ot' the bed-plate, and the shuttle-lever F is also mounted on the same side of the bed-plate, being pivoted so as rlhe lower end ofthe pitman-lever D is attached to the crank c on the end of the-feed-shat't in the usual manner,

In order to support the pitman-lever between the main shaft and feed-shaft, a tubular guide, G, is provided, adapted to receive and embrace the central or body portion of the pitman-lever. This guide is adj ustably attached to a shoe or yoke, H, which is pivoted to the standard at some point between the (No model.)

main shaft and feed-shaft, preferably about half-way. This pivoting ot' the yoke or shoe will of course permit it to oscillate, thereby providing for a similar movement of the tubular guide, which movement will obviously accommodate the constantly-changing position of the pitman-lever as it' is actuated by the eccentric or crank-wheel on the main shaft. This shoe is of yoke form, as shown in Fig. 2 ofthe drawings, and the guide is arranged within the yoke and fastened to the central port-ion thereof` by means of screws h. These screws pass through enlarged holes or slots h in the shoe, and are tapped into the guide, whereby the guide may be adjusted relatively to the shoe. The respective ends of the shoe or yoke are mounted on conical pivot-pins I, set in the sides of the standard, and provided with screw-threads and nuts li, by means of which they are adjusted at will. The guide is preferably split, and has flanges g at one side, where the tube is split, through which screws g are passed for the purpose of 75 adjusting the guide to iit closely the pitmanlever. Obviously, if the guide and shoe are let't in a somewhat loose conditionthat is, so as to permit movement in either directionthe turning ot' the wheel once round, so as to move the pitman-lever up and down, would accurately center the guide 5 but as this latter piece is rigidly attached to the shoe, and the axial line of the shoe is invariable, being the axial line of the twopivot-pins, it is plain that the guide must be carefully adjusted when fastened to the shoe, so that when the latter is mounted on its pivot-pins the guide will be accurately centered in the direction across the axial line ofthe shoe, in order to prevent binding in this direction between the guide and the pitman-lcver. This adjust-ment is effectuated by means of the slots h', hereinbefore mentioned. The guide may be centered in the other direction-that is, on the axial line of the shoe-by the movement of the pitmanlever, and may bc effected by simply loosening the pivot-pins and then turning the wheel once, which will bring the guide into accurate adjustment in the direction mentioned, the shoe moving slightly one way or the other on its axial line to permit this adjustment. The' screw pivot-pins are then set up to the shoe in this position. Now, it is obvious that in IOO the operation ot' the machine the pitman-lever will move back and forth in the guide, which oscillates back and forth to accommodate the changing position ot' the pitman-lever, and that this guide will hold the pitman-lever lirmly in its proper plane of movement.

In my improvement there is ntt much wear in the tubular guide, and it will be noticed that there is provision for taking up to compensate for wear, and the adjustment of the guide can always be made so as to prevent any binding strain on the pitman-lever.

In order to give the required vibratory movement to the shuttle-lever F, I provide a finger, K, which is attached atvits upper end to the guide-shoe in any suitable manner, and at its lower end is connected to the end of the lever in any suitable manner. In the drawings I have shown this connection made b v means cfa ball, 7.', at the end of the iinger, which is arranged in a fork,f, at the end of the lever, thus making` one kind ot'unlversal joint, which is adesirable form of connection between these two parts. Obviously, the oscillation of the shoe, produced by the movement ot' the pitman-lever described above, will vibrate this finger, which in turn will vibrate the shuttlelever to produce the usual operation required thereby. It will be understood, of course, that the length ct' the iina'er and the i'ulcrum ot' the shuttle-lever must be regulated, respectively, so as to produce the degree ot' movement required for the lever. This tingcr may be an extension arm made in one piece with tte shoe, or it may be made in one piece with tubular guide, or a separate piece attached to the guide or to the shoe, for it is evident that it will receive the same movement whether attached to the shoe or to the guide. In thedrawing's I have shown it made in one piece with the shoe, and consider this a desirable construction, because cheap and simple.

Theconstructionandarrangementdescribed above will ot' course necessitate the location ot' the feed-shaft at one side of the shuttlelever, which occupies a substantially central position on the under side ot' the bed-plate. This arrangement places the feed-shaft at one side ot' a vertical line dropped from the main shaft, and in order to accommodate this arrangement the lower end ot' the pitman-lever is bent, as shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings. I prefer to produce this bend by making the pitman-lever in two pieces, the lower one being` bent in the required manner, while the upper one is substantially straight, except at its lower end, where it is turned outward, and is screwed into a socket on the end ofthe other section.

It is plain that as the tubular guide is located about n'lidway ot' the pitman-lever it will atford a stron g and reliable support to the latter, thereby giving` it stiliness, in addition to its function ot' holding,` the pitman in its proper plane.

It is evident that the improvement may be applied to dit'erent varieties ot' sewing-machines, mechanical changes being made in some instances, perhaps, to adapt the improve ment to some peculiarity in the construction ot' the machine. It is evident, too, that the improvement is not restricted to an eccentric, but is equally applicable to a crank operating the pitman-lever.

I do not claim, broadly, an oscillating,` guide embracing the pitman and operating` the sluittle-lever, as the same is set torth in Patent No. 218,141, granted to Henry Il'. Schleuter, August 5, 1879.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and wish to protect by Letters Patent, is

l. In a sewing-machine, the combination, with the main shat't and feed-shaft and the pitmanlever connecting the two, ofthe guide embracing` the pitman-lever and ad j ustably secured to an oscillatingshoe mounted on suitable pivots, substantially as and for the purposes specied.

2. In a sewing-machine, the combination, with the main shat't and feed-shaft and the pitman-lever connecting the two, of a guide embracing the lever and adjustably secured to a shoe mounted on suitable pivots, and havv ing a finger ar anged to engage with and operate the shuttle-lever, substantially as and for thepurposes spectied.

IVILLIAM J. STICNAR".

Iituesses JN0. C. MAcGnnGoR, W. O. CoRLIEs. 

